A dip into Innocence
by Little Miss Bovver
Summary: Poke meets his daughter and she has a few questions of her own. Set after the war. One-shot. Deals with thoughts on war. Now includes a Poke/Carla one-shot
1. A dip into Innocence

**Title: **A dip into Innocence

**Pairing(s)/character(s): **Poke, Poke's daughter

**Rated: **PG-15

**Disclaimer: **I do not own, etc

**Summery: **Poke meets his daughter and she has a few questions of her own.

**A/N: **Well, I'm feeling a bit down, but found my writer's block has been nudged away a little and allowed me to write this. I wasn't sure on the names of Poke's wife and daughter, so I made them up. Some facts may be a little off, but you can't say I didn't try! This deals with thoughts on war and seeing as I'm not exactly sure where I stand, I wanted to let Poke's feelings through. I just hope I got it right.

A dip into Innocence

It's taken Tony Espera eight years to finally realize how hard fatherhood is, but that's only because he's been at war for the last seven. When he'd left, Jess had been a year old with fat chubby legs and a huge toothy grin. He'd watched her grow via the pictures Carla sent, but seeing her here in the flesh shocks him.

She has straight, dark hair and big brown eyes and looks like Carla, though his wife always insists Jess looks like him. But, there's also a curious expression on her face as she sets her eyes on him for the first time. She doesn't say anything, but comes forward to hug him around the waist at her mother's nudge.

Poke can feel the tears sting his eyes. Fuck; he's shot Iraqis, watched heads explode and even seen children get blown up outside their mud huts with their goats. But here, the carnivorous motherfucker that he was, is reduced to tears.

Poke washes.

As soon as he gets away from the family that has come to greet him, he pulls off his uniform (for he hasn't had a chance to change yet) and sinks under the hot spray of water. It rolls off his dark skin, splashes at his sore and war-battered feet and it feels _good_.

As Poke rids himself of the dirt of Iraq, Jess is in the kitchen questioning Carla. 'Why was he crying?'

'Daddy missed you a lot and he's just relieved to see you after all these years.' Jess frowns, but asks no more. Instead, she goes upstairs and sits down in front of the bathroom door, legs crossed, arms folded.

Poke steps out the shower, drying himself off with a towel that seems even whiter and fluffier than ever. He dresses in the simple, civilian clothes that Carla has left folded on the toilet seat, before opening the door. Jess is sat there, looking up at him.

They don't talk for a moment, just watching each other, almost warily. 'Mommy's making a picnic,' she says finally, climbing to her feet. 'We're going to the zoo. Mommy always lets me feed the animals in the pen.'

Poke gives her a smile, watching as she turns and disappears downstairs. He moves into the bedroom, appraising himself in the full length mirror. He can swear there's still dirt on his face, but when he rubs at it there's nothing really there. Then, he pulls on his trainers and heads downstairs.

The zoo is packed. Poke doesn't like it. It's crowded and claustrophobic and several times he mistakes people for soldiers who they are not.

'Hey, dawg,' he yells. 'Lilley!' But, the man with the camcorder isn't his driver and his smile fades. Jessie frowns up at him for a moment, before skipping ahead with her grandmother.

Carla just squeezes his hand reassuringly and follows. By midday, Poke finds himself alone with Jess beside the animal-pen. She's stood on the gate and he worries she will fall, but she seems perfectly balanced as she leans over to feed the goats that crowd.

'What's it like to shoot somebody?' she asks, out of the blue. Poke frowns for a moment, watching her out the corner of his eye.

'Well, it's scary, dawg...' he clears his throat. 'Jess.'

'Did you kill anybody?' She throws the rest of the food into the pen, before turning to sit on the gate, watching him with her dark eyes. Poke sighs.

'A lot of people,' Poke says, knowing there was no point pussyfooting around the subject. 'But, I only did what I had to do, baby girl. Its war and we have to fight for what's right.' He looks up at her and Jess looks back.

'Miss Maw said the war should be stopped. She told us about marches she goes on. She makes us write letters to the Army and sign petitions about why it should be stopped. There was one time I overheard her talking to Mr Dawson about the war and about baby killers and how much she hates soldiers.' Jess suddenly flushes, going quiet as if in fear of saying too much. Poke feels anger inside and it flares. He grits his teeth, exhaling through his nose, calming himself.

'It's what I was trained to do. Some people don't understand; the protesters. I'm not defending the war, because it was fucked up in its own right, but sometimes we have no choice. Don't listen to what she said about the soldiers.' Poke looks away into the distance. 'We're brothers, dawg. They don't know what it's like to be sat in a hole in the ground, the sweat freezing on our bodies at night, just to drench us during the day. They don't know what it's like to have a mouthful of sand when ducking from enemy fire. They think they're doing things right, sat in their offices and classroom, but they fuck it up even more, dawg. It would be better if we had their support, Jess. Instead of them bitching and moaning about it. This really is a white man's war.'

It goes quiet after his angered outburst. Jess is looking away now, frowning across at the elephant house. 'That's what I said.'

'What?' frowns Poke.

'That's what I told Miss Maw. Mommy would never read the full letter to me when you sent them. So at night, I'd sneak into her jewellery box and read them for myself. Anyway, when Miss was having one of her rants, I told her about you being in the war.'

Poke felt the laugh bubble on his lips as he straightened up.

'She sent me out,' Jess said. 'And she rang Mommy.' Poke smiles, shaking his head as he lifts her off the gate.

'I love you, Jess. You know that, right?' Jess gives him his first big smile.

'I love you too, Dad.'


	2. Pleasurably Warm

**Title:** Pleasurably Warm  
**Characters:** Espera/OC  
**Rating:** M  
**Word count:** 1,347  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters and HBO owns GenKill.  
**A/N:** Written for the Get Some Porn Skirmish. Prompt: They have a babysitter with the kids and a hotel room all to themselves.

Pleasurably Warm

'Dog, when you said babysitter, I thought you meant someone a little more, y'know... older,' Poke Espera says, a frown creasing his brow and he peers over Carla's shoulder to see the teenage girl knelt with little Katie on the floor. Katie's chubby little legs are kicked out in front of her, beaming as she waves a building block in the girl's face.

Carla rolls her eyes and gives a small laugh, cupping his jaw and angling his face towards hers. 'Anna is old enough to do the job.'

'She's still in diapers herself,' Poke says with a slight scowl.

'She's sixteen,' Carla replies, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips, her hand falling into his. She turns back to Anna, who was straightening up with Katie in her arms. 'Now, Jessie and Rachel are upstairs watching TV, so they should be okay. Their dinner is in the oven which should be ready in half an hour or so. Katie goes to bed at seven, Rachel and Jessie at nine. There's soda in the refrigerator and snacks in the cupboard.'

Anna nods eagerly; her blond hair is pulled into a loose bun, wisps of hair falling out the side. Katie has stuck her fingers in her mouth and is chewing on them as she stares at her parents with big, brown eyes. Carla leans forward to kiss the top of her head and with a smile and a murmured 'Be good for Anna!' Poke ushers Carla out the house.

It isn't a long drive to the hotel. Poke pulls up, cutting the engine and moving around the car to open the door for Carla. His wife smiles at him. 'Such the gentleman.'

'As always,' he laughs, placing a hand on the small of her back and steering her into the entrance. The foyer is large, marble and dark wood, a smart looking man slumped at the reception desk. He straightens up quickly as he sees them approach, clearing his throat.

'Welcome to Heartwood Hotel. Can I help you, sir?'

'I have a room booked, dog.'

'Name?'

'Espera.' The man checks the hotel computer, nodding and he turns away to snag a key from the hooks. He hands it over to Poke.

'Have a nice evening, sir.'

'Oh, I will,' Poke assures him with a smile, before turning and leading Carla over to the elevators. Their room is on the second floor, third door along and he lets Carla enter first. Flicking on the light, he smiles at Carla's small gasp.

'Oh, Tony...' she murmurs. The room is large, well done up, a chandelier causing diamonds to glint off every wall above the large double bed, made up with silken sheets and well plumped pillows. There are tears in Carla's eyes when she looked at him. 'How can we afford this?' she asks. Poke comes forward, cupping her jaw and kissing the tip of her nose.

'Don't worry about it.' He runs his tongue along his bottom lip. 'It's a treat. I've missed you.'

And then they are kissing and it's sweet at first, before it gets more demanding. Carla reaches up, one hand on the back of his head, the other resting on his neck.

'Wait,' Carla suddenly says, pulling away. She tugs her phone out her coat pocket. 'Maybe I should give Anna a call...?'

'Who's worried now?' Poke points out. She bites her bottom lip.

'Just to make sure everything's okay...'

'Carla,' Poke says, taking her phone from her and chucking it on the bed. He pulls her close to him once again. 'She'll be fine. She's sixteen after all.' Carla laughs, shaking her head before Poke catches her lips again. The two stumble back towards the bed, his lips now falling to her neck.

Carla arches up against him as Poke pushes her coat from her shoulders and they shift so he can pull it off. This leaves Carla in a small, dark purple evening dress and Poke lets out a sound of appreciation. 'What?' she smiles.

'Fuck. You look...' His grin makes up for his loss of words; it's almost boyish, as if all his Christmases and birthdays have come at once. His hand reaches up to push one strap off her shoulders, lips quickly following to pepper kisses across her shoulder and up her throat.

A flush has risen in her neck and cheeks and Carla's eyes fall shut. She shifts to sit up with Poke still straddling her and she pushes his suit from his shoulders, before her fingers make hasty work of his shirt.

Taking the hem of her dress, Poke moves a little to pull it off, revealing black lace underwear. 'Shit, dog,' he breathes. Carla laughs.

'I saved for weeks to buy them,' she replies, before leaning up to kiss him; it's rough, demanding, wanton as Carla lies back on the bed and pulls Poke with her. His hand trails down her side, calloused fingers causing her skin to tingle and a heat to flood warmly between her legs. Finally, his thumb trails across the lace of her underwear. Carla gives a small gasp of pleasure and lifts her hips to meet his hand.

Poke shifts down, nipping lightly on her collarbone before he meets her breasts. He sucks lightly on the lace, the friction from the material electrifying for her. Carla fists the sheets, writhing beneath him as he continues the path down her body.

He presses a kiss on her abdomen, before shifting to nip her inner thighs lightly. 'Tony...' his name falls huskily from her lips and her legs part easily for him. Slowly, Poke slips the panties over her waist and tugs them down her legs, glancing up to meet her lust-darkened gaze. Then, they dropped back to the underwear as he lets them drop off her feet.

And there she is, presented flush, wet and willing in front of him. Poke shifts up again, lifting one leg to drape over his shoulder. He kisses her inner thigh once more, breathing in her musky smell before he dips his head.

The first taste makes a low groan escape Poke's lips and a hiss to escape from Carla.

His teeth graze her clit, his other hand coming up to press down on her hip, holding her in place. His tongue presses against her entrance and he slowly begins to fuck her, each delve going deeper. Then, he raises his head to suck lightly on the hard nub, rolling it between his teeth and flicking the tip with his tongue. 'Tony, please,' Carla gasps, hips bucking against his mouth.

Poke pulls away and crawls back up her body and she kisses him, tasting herself on his lips. She reaches down to undo the buttons of his trousers. Poke helps her kick them off along with his boxers, before she pushes him onto his back. Carla crawls across the sheets to straddle him, pressing back against his hard manhood. Poke's hands fall to her waist, fingers biting into the skin.

She shifts her hips until she can feel him hard and pulsing against her entrance and then slowly eases herself down. Poke thrusts his hips upwards, a feral growl leaving the back of his throat. Carla bites her bottom lip, moaning softly as he begins to fuck her; the thrusts grow harder and steadier, pushing deep up into her. Poke feels his stomach tighten with arousal, the pressure in his balls becoming almost too much. His back arches from the bed and a low, guttural cry leaves his lips as he suddenly comes.

His body stiffens. His hips surge upwards. His fingers tighten on her waist before he sinks back against the pillows.

Carla falls against him, panting heavily and he kisses her sweat-dampened shoulder, cradling her against his chest. 'I love you, Carla,' he tells her, breathlessly, eyes shut as he waits for the strength to return to his limbs. His body is numb, pleasurably warm and tingly. Carla stretches, cat-like, and places a small kiss on his jaw.

'I love you too, Tony Espera.'


End file.
